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The Khilafa of Uthman: The Wisdom and the Agony

Uthman ibn Affan was the third Khalifa of Islam. He was known as the ‘Man of the Two Lights’, because he was the only man in history known to have married two daughters of a Prophet.

Uthman was famed for his good looks and immense generosity, and also for his spiritual closeness to the Holy Prophet of Islam, who included him among the ten who were assured of Paradise. He commanded the armies of Islam during an age of miraculous conquest and victory in East and West.

But he remained famously humble, and his sermons brought people to tears. He said: ‘I am astounded at four people: he who knows the world to be temporary, and still chases after it; he who is certain of death and yet makes no plans for it; he who believes in hell, and yet commits sins; and he who believes in Allah, and yet seeks the help of others.’